Zion Williamson: If I didn’t have as much at stake, I probably would stay for another year at Duke

14/05/201911:34

Williamson: “Being at Duke was a dream come true for me"

Zion Williamson said that he did not want to leave Duke and he would have loved to play one more year for the Blue Devils.

Per Slam Online, “You get this college experience once,” he says. “If you’re in a situation like mine, where you’re one and done, I’m just trying to make the most of what I got. I love Duke, and honestly, I don’t want to leave. If I didn’t have as much at stake, I probably would stay for another year. But I can’t.

“Being at Duke was a dream come true for me. Everything about it. Looking to the sidelines, Whoa, that’s Coach K I’m playing for! Coach K is looking at me [and] telling me I’m built for this moment. I have a true brotherhood on and off the court. Everything was just a movie,” he says. “This was the best year of my life. So if I could come back for a second year I would, but unfortunately that’s just not the reality we live in. The reality we live in is [that] my ultimate dream is the NBA. It’s what I’ve been dreaming about as a kid so I have to pursue that. And I have to take care of my family.

Adds Zion, “When I was by myself, I was like, You know what? Maybe. What would be the worst if I came back for a second year? And my teammates [would] look at me and go, ‘We know you love this place but you gotta do what’s best for you and your family. Nobody is going to hate you for this.’
“I remember I was doing my video announcing I was declaring for the draft. And I didn’t want to do the video. I don’t want to leave. I love everything about Duke. If people think I’m BS-ing or not telling the truth—that’s them.”